Listen to messages from Worship Encounters as well as special content.
You've been saved. You've destroyed some idols. You've done everything right — and yet something keeps pulling you back.In Saved but Still Stuck, Pastor Ben Norvig digs into one of the most overlooked passages in the Old Testament: King Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, tore down idols, and stirred revival. But there's a line in 1 Kings 15 that keeps showing up across generations of kings: “The high places were not removed.” That single detail — left unaddressed — cost Israel everything.Pastor Ben unpacks the difference between an idol and a high place, why high places always require a sacrifice, and how the patterns we leave standing get handed to our kids. He also shares a personal reckoning with his own high place — the high place of approval — and why destroying it this week was the hardest thing he's done.Whether you've been following Jesus for thirty years or you're just curious about what any of this means, this message is for you.
You've been saved. You've destroyed some idols. You've done everything right — and yet something keeps pulling you back.In Saved but Still Stuck, Pastor Ben Norvig digs into one of the most overlooked passages in the Old Testament: King Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, tore down idols, and stirred revival. But there's a line in 1 Kings 15 that keeps showing up across generations of kings: “The high places were not removed.” That single detail — left unaddressed — cost Israel everything.Pastor Ben unpacks the difference between an idol and a high place, why high places always require a sacrifice, and how the patterns we leave standing get handed to our kids. He also shares a personal reckoning with his own high place — the high place of approval — and why destroying it this week was the hardest thing he's done.Whether you've been following Jesus for thirty years or you're just curious about what any of this means, this message is for you.
We all know the feeling — looking around, seeing what everyone else has, and quietly thinking, “I want that.” In 1 Samuel 7 and 8, the people of Israel did exactly that. They had God as their King. They had miracle after miracle in their rearview mirror. And they still asked for a human king “like all the other nations have.”In this message at Love Church Omaha, Luke Reelfs walks through the danger of getting what you think you want when it's outside of God's best — and gives a three-step path back: turn from idols, trust God's leadership, talk to Him before you chase what everyone else is chasing.
We all know the feeling — looking around, seeing what everyone else has, and quietly thinking, “I want that.” In 1 Samuel 7 and 8, the people of Israel did exactly that. They had God as their King. They had miracle after miracle in their rearview mirror. And they still asked for a human king “like all the other nations have.”In this message at Love Church Omaha, Luke Reelfs walks through the danger of getting what you think you want when it's outside of God's best — and gives a three-step path back: turn from idols, trust God's leadership, talk to Him before you chase what everyone else is chasing.
What if your biggest obstacle is not fear — but the choice to hold back? In Judges 6, God calls Gideon a mighty hero while he is literally hiding in a wine press. That disconnect is the whole point. In Why You Keep Holding Back, Pastor Mike O'Connell unpacks the Greek word deilía from 2 Timothy 1:7 — often translated "timidity" — and reveals that it is not describing an emotion. It is describing a posture: the decision to shrink back when courage is already available to you.God did not just call Gideon out of hiding. He stripped away every safety net — shrinking an army of 32,000 down to 300 — so there would be no question about who deserved the credit. If there is a decision you keep deferring, a conversation you keep avoiding, or a calling you keep softening to make it more comfortable, this message will challenge you. What God sees in you is not what your circumstances are telling you. And the step He is asking you to take might be the very thing that unlocks everything else.
What if your biggest obstacle is not fear — but the choice to hold back? In Judges 6, God calls Gideon a mighty hero while he is literally hiding in a wine press. That disconnect is the whole point. In Why You Keep Holding Back, Pastor Mike O'Connell unpacks the Greek word deilía from 2 Timothy 1:7 — often translated "timidity" — and reveals that it is not describing an emotion. It is describing a posture: the decision to shrink back when courage is already available to you.God did not just call Gideon out of hiding. He stripped away every safety net — shrinking an army of 32,000 down to 300 — so there would be no question about who deserved the credit. If there is a decision you keep deferring, a conversation you keep avoiding, or a calling you keep softening to make it more comfortable, this message will challenge you. What God sees in you is not what your circumstances are telling you. And the step He is asking you to take might be the very thing that unlocks everything else.
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